Alternative Energy: Political, Economic, and Social Feasibility

Product Description

The second edition of
Alternative Energy: Political, Economic, and Social Feasibility
builds on the first edition, but with significant updates on dramatic changes within the renewable energy sector over the last decade. Christopher Simon discusses the basic technical aspects of major renewable energy systems and technological developments and considers the impact of politics on energy policy using contemporary theories of public policy—such as, Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Punctuated Equilibrium (PE), Narrative Policy Framework, and Policy Diffusion—as well as discussing the evolution of the social feasibility of renewable energy. The author expands his discussion of alternative energy solutions to consider nuclear power developments and feasibility in the post-Fukushima policy environment. International commitment to renewable energy is also addressed.

Review

This second edition is now the definitive overview of the realities of adopting alternative energy technologies. Focusing mostly on the US situation but acknowledging that energy availability and technology choices cannot be understood apart from the international context, Simon makes an unassailable case that the world’s energy needs cannot be met without alternative energy. He points out that adoption decisions are not made in a technocratic vacuum but are instead made according to various political, economic, and social feasibilities. Explaining how the current mix of energy technologies was reached and the possibilities going forward, Simon provides a sophisticated understanding of the policy process. His analysis is comprehensive, accurate, and fair to all technologies—from the more established such as nuclear, solar, and wind to the less common, e.g., biodiesel, geothermal, and hydrogen fuel cells. Neither an advocacy book nor a book for those who want simple answers to solving the US’s (and the world’s) energy problems, this well-written resource is an impressive accomplishment. Summing Up: Essential. All readers. ―
Choice

Christopher Simon’s second edition of
Alternative Energy: Political, Economic, and Social Feasibility
provides an excellent and comprehensive updated overview of the policy dynamics surrounding the adoption of alternative energy technologies. With the increasingly severe effects of global climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuels, Simon’s book articulately lays out the obstacles and possibilities of alternative energy adoption. — Brent S. Steel, professor and graduate director in public policy, Oregon State University

The world is undeniably undergoing a transition, if not a transformation, to a low-carbon economy. How society harnesses alternative forms of energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal is a central component of both understanding and possibly steering that transformation. This second edition of
Alternative Energy
is pivotal in equipping readers with the understanding they need of history, legitimacy, policy and even politics for engaging with this highly important topic. — Benjamin K. Sovacool, professor of energy policy at the University of Sussex, and author of Global Energy Justice

A bit over a decade ago I wrote about the 1
st
edition the following: “The economics, basic science, and cultural and political dynamics associated with public policy reformulation in the area of alternative energy sources are indeed complex…Simon should be commended for his artful framing of this issue, and for his fair and even-handed assessment of the public policy options…” The decade since the publication of the first edition has NOT witnessed the advent of a consensus on any one (or even a few) of these options as a basis for a minimal fossil fuel use future. Quite to the contrary, while the global consensus on anthropomorphic sources of global warming has been bolstered by convincing evidence of a pending disaster, little agreement is to found on U.S. alternative energy policy. N